Oklahoma City has championship aspirations this season, and one reason is the play of center Steven Adams. The Thunder’s mustachioed big man has had six double-doubles so far in this postseason, as his team looks to knock off the defending champion Golden State Warriors in the NBA’s Western Conference Finals. The potential was always evident from when he first came to the U.S. from New Zealand…as was the playfulness.
Adams spent one semester at Notre Dame Prep with Coach Ryan Hurd in 2012, and immediately made a name for himself, both on and off the court. Joking in interviews with Adam Finkelstein was one thing (making it impossible to get clean takes). We’ll chalk it up to being not used to media attention after arriving only a month or two earlier. Launching off the Rhode Island College Gymnastics team’s Horizontal Bar located in the the back of the Murray Center, then throwing his coach and interviewer in as well, and it was clear that Adams was a different kind of dude, as affable and engaging as they come.
Oh yeah, he could also ball.